NOTES ON DEGREES OF RELATIONS

DEGREES OF RELATIONS
Article 149. The family, being the foundation of the nation, is a basic social
institution which public policy cherishes and protects. Consequently, family
relations are governed by law and no custom, practice or agreement
destructive of the family shall be recognized or given effect. (Family Code,
Title V, Chapter 1)
Article 150. Family relations include those:
(1)Between husband and wife;
(2)Between parents and children;
(3)Among brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half blood. (217a)

1. Family, defined
 A group of persons who are connected by blood or by affinity or
through law within two or three generations.
 A group that consists of Parents and their children.
 A group of persons living together and having a shared commitment
to a domestic relationship.

1.1. Structures of Family

1.1.1. Nuclear Family
The nuclear family is the traditional type of family structure.
This family type consists of two parents and children. The
nuclear family was long held in esteem by society as being
the ideal in which to raise children.
1.1.2. Extended
The extended family structure consists of two or more adults
who are related, either by blood or marriage, living in the
same home.
1.1.3. Childless Family
While most people think of family as including children, there
are couples who either cannot or choose not to have children.
The childless family is sometimes the "forgotten family," as it
does not meet the traditional standards set by society.
Childless families consist of two partners living and working
together.

1.2. Relation, distinguished

1.2.1. Consanguinity
Relationship determined by blood.

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1.2.2. Affinity
Relationship determined by marriage.
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CHAPTER 3
Legal or Intestate Succession

SUBSECTION 1
Relationship

ARTICLE 963.
Proximity of relationship is determined by the number of generations.
Each generation forms a degree. (915)
ARTICLE 964.
A series of degrees forms a line, which may be either direct or
collateral.
A direct line is that constituted by the series of degrees among
ascendants and descendants.
A collateral line is that constituted by the series of degrees among
persons who are not ascendants and descendants, but who come from
a common ancestor. (916a) ARTICLE 965. The direct line is either
descending or ascending.
The former unites the head of the family with those who descend from
him.
The latter binds a person with those from whom he descends. (917)
ARTICLE 966.
In the line, as many degrees are counted as there are generations or
persons, excluding the progenitor.
In the direct line, ascent is made to the common ancestor. Thus, the
child is one degree removed from the parent, two from the
grandfather, and three from the great-grandparent.
In the collateral line, ascent is made to the common ancestor and then
descent is made to the person with whom the computation is to be
made. Thus, a person is two degrees removed from his brother, three
from his uncle, who is the brother of his father, four from his first
cousin, and so forth. (918a)

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ARTICLE 967.
Full blood relationship is that existing between persons who have the
same father and the same mother.
Half-blood relationship is that existing between persons who have the
same father, but not the same mother, or the same mother, but not
the same father. (920a)
ARTICLE 968.
If there are several relatives of the same degree, and one or some of
them are unwilling or incapacitated to succeed, his portion shall accrue
to the others of the same degree, save the right of representation
when it should take place. (922)
ARTICLE 969.
If the inheritance should be repudiated by the nearest relative, should
there be one only, or by all the nearest relatives called by law to
succeed, should there be several, those of the following degree shall
inherit in their own right and cannot represent the person or persons
repudiating the inheritance. (923)
** ** ** **
1. NOTES ON THE COMPUTATION OF DEGREE OF RELATIONS
1.1. Cousin and Other Relationships
1.1.1. Direct and Collateral Relationships:

We are related to our other family members in one of three

ways. We are either direct relatives, collateral relatives or
both.

Direct relatives measure lines of direct descent. Anyone in

that line will either be a direct ancestor, or a direct
descendant of you. In the chart, all these individuals appear
as blue rectangles.

Collateral relatives are all others to include siblings, aunts &

uncles, nieces & nephews, and all cousins. Collateral relatives
share a common ancestor, but are not directly descended
from, or ancestral to, each other.

These categories are not mutually exclusive. For example,

assume that your great- grandparents were 2nd cousins once

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removed from each other. That means that all their

descendants are related to each other in more than one way.
Some of those relationships are direct, and some are not. In
this example, you would be your mother’s son/daughter, her
4th cousin, her 5th cousin, and her 4th cousin once removed.
Confusing?

1.1.2. “Removed” relationships:

In the chart there is one row of rectangles colored green. This

row represents all the individuals on the chart who are
members of your generation. Up one row is your parents’
generation and down one row is your children’s.

Full siblings and cousins are all members of the same

generation! In other words, they’ve descended the same
number of steps from the shared ancestor. Siblings share a
set of parents. 1st cousins share a set of grandparents. 2nd
cousins share a set of great-grandparents. And so it goes....

So, if you and your 1st cousin share a set of grandparents,

then how are you related to your 1st cousin’s children? They
are not in the same generation as you. They are one
generation further away from those common ancestors (your
grandparents, their great-grandparents). They are one
generation removed from your generation.

Now your 1st cousin’s children and your children are in the
same generation again, but the shared ancestors are their
great-grandparents. That means that they are full 2nd
cousins. And your 1st cousin’s grandchildren will be 3rd
cousins to your grandchildren, 2nd cousins once removed to
your children, and 1st cousins twice removed from you.

As you count the generations from the shared ancestors along

each branch, the shortest branch controls the “cousin
number.” If the shortest branch only has two generations
between the ancestors and the relative in question, then
that’s the baseline, 1st cousins. All the generations
“removed” are measured from there.

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Another way of thinking of it is to move down each generation

until you get to the last generation where both branches are
the same length. If that is the 1st cousin generation, then all
the remaining links along the longer branch will be 1st
cousins, as many times removed as they are farther along the
branch.

1.1.3. Great Uncles and Grand Aunts:

One of the most common mistakes made has to do with the

official name for the relationship between us and the siblings
of our grandparents. We tend to call them great aunts and
uncles. When we do that we are WRONG!!!

Officially, they are our grand (not great) aunts and uncles.
And all the siblings of our great-grandparents are our great
grand-aunts and our great grand-uncles.

1.1.4. Halves and Doubles:

One final interesting aside is how we are related to our half

siblings, half 1st cousins, etc. We are half as related to half
relatives as to our full relatives.

If we share 50% of our genes with our siblings, then we share

25% with our half siblings. Likewise, if we share 12.5% of our
genes with our 1st cousins, then we share 6.25% with our half
1st cousins.

Where this gets really complicated is with doubles. For

example, Joseph “A” has a sister Mary “A”. Likewise, George
“B” has a sister Jane “B”. Joseph “A” marries Jane “B” and
George “B” marries Mary “A”. The offspring of each of these
marriages are double 1st cousins. They share both sets of
grandparents, paternal and maternal. This also means they
share twice as many genes as ordinary 1st cousins, fully 25%.
Going a step further, if the offspring of each marriage, the
double first cousins married, their children would also be the
parents’ 1st cousin once removed. The children of this union,

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in addition to being siblings, would also be 2nd Cousin to each

other.

A final special case is, of course, identical twins. From the

genetic perspective, identical twins are really the same
person. They share 100% of their genes. Now the children of
an identical male twin are as closely related to their uncle as
they are to their father. And 1st cousins descended through a
pair of identical twins are double 1st cousins, just as if their
grandparents had been two pairs of siblings. When two sets of
identical twins marry, the 1st cousins are actually quadruple
1st cousins. This makes them, genetically speaking, siblings.

2. Degree of Relationships:

The “degree” of a relationship is a legal term. It refers to the number

of “steps” between two individuals who are blood relatives. The degree
in Civil law represents the total number of steps through the bloodline
that separate two individuals. For example, there are two steps from
you to your grandparent and then two steps back down to your first
cousin, so the degree is four.

The degree in Canon law measures the maximum number of steps

from the nearest common ancestor. Your grandparent is the nearest
common ancestor between you and your first cousin, so in this case
the degree would be two. Canon law is used in most of the United
States.

Perhaps now we can begin to feel a little more confident when we

speak of 3rd cousins six times removed. At least now we have the data
to back up our statements.

2.1. Necessities to Learn Degrees of Relations

2.1.1. Marriage
2.1.1.1. Requisites of Valid Marriage License
As enumerated in Article 11 of the Family Code, Degree
of relationship of the contracting parties is one of the
requisites of a valid marriage license.
2.1.1.2. Incestuous Marriage
Furthermore, under Article 37, marriages between the
following are incestuous and void from the beginning,

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whether relationship between the parties be legitimate

or illegitimate:
(1)Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and
(2)Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half
blood.
2.1.1.3. Void Marriages as enumerated in Art. 38 in
connection with degrees of relations

Article 38. The following marriages shall be void

from the beginning for reasons of public policy:

(1) Between collateral bloods relatives whether

legitimate or illegitimate, up to the fourth civil degree;

(2) Between step-parents and step-children;

(3) Between parents-in-law and children-in-law;

(4) Between the adopting parent and the adopted child;

(5) Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent

and the adopted child;

(6) Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child

and the adopter;

(7) Between an adopted child and a legitimate child of

the adopter;

(8) Between adopted children of the same adopter; and

(9) Between parties where one, with the intention to

marry the other, killed that other person’s spouse, or his
or her own spouse. (82)

2.1.2. Successions
2.1.3. Anti-Dynasty
2.1.4. Anti-Nepotism

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